74th World Health Assembly: UK national statement on preventing sexual exploitation, abuse and sexual harassment
The UK's Ambassador to the UN and WTO in Geneva, Simon Manley, delivered this statement during the session on preventing sexual exploitation, abuse and sexual harassment.
Thank you Chair.
As a co-proponent of the joint statement delivered by Canada, our concerns about the media reports that emerged on 12 May this year are well known. Failure to report cases of sexual exploitation, abuse and sexual harassment, as required by UN and WHO protocol, would be contrary to the safeguarding standards to which WHO Member States require all international organizations to adhere, including zero tolerance for ignoring, covering up or deliberately mishandling allegations. These principles underpin all UK funding agreements to international partners.
Given our shared policy of zero tolerance for inaction, we urge that the most recent - and all related allegations - be investigated as soon as possible, in keeping with a survivor-centred approach. To ensure confidence in the process, we ask the WHO senior management team to consider again whether the OIOS should indeed be involved, or as a minimum, to clarify how the Independent Commission’s work will be coordinated with OIOS, which is looking at allegations against UNICEF and IOM staff in the same region, and to explain what the process will be for sharing the Independent Commission’s reports with Member States. We felt that the interim reports lacked detail and should have been shared at the time of writing, as set out in the Commission’s Terms of Reference.
We must from now on see much more transparency from the WHO.
We expect regular – and frequent - updates on the actions outlined in the EB148 Decision and the joint Member State statement delivered at PBAC, and reiterate the request that the WHO update Member States on the proposed handling of these internal staff allegations at the Member State quarterly briefing next month.
Chair, sexual exploitation and abuse, and sexual harassment, are not unique to one part of the world or another. Regrettably, they occur everywhere and all organisations have room for improvement, including my own. Yet this must not – and cannot - deter us from tackling their root causes and responding with confidence to ensure accountability wherever and whenever they occur, in the interest of survivors.
And, given the extraordinary vulnerability of so many of those who the WHO seeks to help in the field, we have an acute moral responsibility to ensure that the organisation maintains the very highest standards, so as to provide a safe and supportive working environment for its staff and for the communities it serves.
Chair, no means no. And zero tolerance means just that. In deeds as well as words.
Thank you chair.